Ezekiel 44:5

5 God said to me, "Son of man, get a grip on yourself. Use your eyes, use your ears, pay careful attention to everything I tell you about the ordinances of this Temple of God, the way all the laws work, instructions regarding it and all the entrances and exits of the Sanctuary.

Ezekiel 44:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 44:5

And the Lord said unto me, son of man
This is still the voice of the Lord speaking out of the house to the prophet, ( Ezekiel 43:6 ) : mark well;
or, "set thine heart" F6; be attentive to what is about to be said, as being of great concern and importance: and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say
unto thee;
heart, eyes, and ears, are all to be employed in the most diligent manner in regarding the things hereafter delivered; the same expressions exciting attention were used at the first of this vision, ( Ezekiel 40:4 ) : concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; (See Gill on Ezekiel 43:11), mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the
sanctuary;
the way of entrance into the Gospel church, and the manner of exclusion from it, and the laws and rules concerning these; the prophet is bid particularly to observe these well, because it was in these things God's professing people chiefly offended, as appears by what follows; they were not so careful as they should have been in the admission of persons among them, or in the exclusion of delinquents.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Kbl Myv) "pone cor tuum", V. L. Vatablus, Paguinus, Montanus; "pone ad cor tuum", Starckius.

Ezekiel 44:5 In-Context

3 Only the prince, because he's the prince, may sit there to eat in the presence of God. He is to enter the gate complex through the porch and leave by the same way."
4 The man led me through the north gate to the front of the Temple. I looked, and - oh! - the bright Glory of God filling the Temple of God! I fell on my face in worship.
5 God said to me, "Son of man, get a grip on yourself. Use your eyes, use your ears, pay careful attention to everything I tell you about the ordinances of this Temple of God, the way all the laws work, instructions regarding it and all the entrances and exits of the Sanctuary.
6 "Tell this bunch of rebels, this family Israel, 'Message of God, the Master: No more of these vile obscenities, Israel,
7 dragging irreverent and unrepentant outsiders, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, into my Sanctuary, feeding them the sacrificial offerings as if it were the food for a neighborhood picnic. With all your vile obscenities, you've broken trust with me, the solemn covenant I made with you.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.